Under The Sea with Disney's 'THE LITTLE MERMAID' at The Fox!

Atlanta audiences are set to take a trip under the sea with Disney’s family friendly extravaganza The Little Mermaid, featuring bright, inventive sets and dazzling costumes! This fun-filled, timeless tale comes to life on stage July 8-13 at the Fox Theatre, kicking off the Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Atlanta 2014-2015 series.

In a magical kingdom below, we meet Ariel, the little mermaid who is tired of flipping her fins and longs to be part of the fascinating world on dry land. Joining her are Sebastian, Ariel’s crabby sidekick; Ursula, the evil sea witch; Triton, King of the Sea; and the handsome and human, Prince Eric. Based on the Disney animated film and hit Broadway musical, The Little Mermaid is making its Atlanta debut, featuring audience favorites such as 'Under The Sea' and 'Part of Your World' as well as new songs written by Oscar-winning Disney tunesmith Alan Menken, the mastermind behind productions such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Pocahontas.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram praised this production as 'a thoroughly entertaining theatrical experience, especially appreciated by kids who love the movie — and their parents and grandparents.' The Dallas Morning News claims, 'The Little Mermaid reels in the gold,' and Theater Jones says, 'The Little Mermaid hooks the audience and keeps them captivated.'

Casting for this Atlanta debut of The Little Mermaid boasts several acclaimed Broadway and stage veterans:

Jessica Grové (Ariel) played in Broadway’s A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Les Misérables. She also toured nationally in The Boy Friend.

Dale Hensley (Grimsby) has performed on Broadway in La Cage aux Folles, The Drowsy Chaperone, Guys and Dolls and Anything Goes. His national tour credits include hits like La Cage aux Folles, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Full Monty and Big.

Leading the creative team as director is Glenn Casale, who directed Broadway’s Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby. Internationally, he directed Disney’s The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Casale’s work has been seen throughout the United States in productions of Dr. Dolittle, Ballroom, Wrestlers, From the Top, Camelot and The Prisoner of Second Avenue.

John MacInnis is in charge of choreography for The Little Mermaid. He most recently choreographed the European productions of the same show as well as Beauty and the Beast in more than five European countries. In 2011, he worked on the Tony Award–winning musical The Book of Mormon. Other credits include the Radio City Christmas Spectacular as well as the Olympic Medals Ceremonies at the 2002 and 2012 Winter Olympic Games.

Craig Barna will serve as the musical director and conductor. He previously worked as the musical director for the Broadway productions of Peter and the Wolf, Peter Pan, Jesus Christ Superstar and for the national tours of Camelot, Cats, Singin’ in the Rain and Grease.Charlie Morrison will join on board as the lighting designer, and Kit Bond will be the sound designer.

The Little Mermaid’s flying sequence choreographer, Paul Rubin, 'The Fly Guy', has choreographed some of the most memorable flying sequences which include everything from the Tony Award winning Broadway production of Wicked to Cathy Rigby's Emmy Award winning DVD of Peter Pan.

Tickets, which start at $30, are available at the Fox Theatre box office (660 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA 30308,) by visiting www.foxtheatre.org or by calling 1-855-285-8499. Group orders of 10 or more may be placed by calling 404-881-2000.

The Little Mermaid is presented at The Fox by BROADWAY ACROSS AMERICA, which is part of the Key Brand Entertainment family of companies and includes Broadway.com, operated by John Gore (Owner & CEO). BAA is the foremost presenter of first-class touring musicals and plays in North America, operating in 40 markets. As a leading Broadway producer, BAA is dedicated to the development and production of new and diverse theatre. Current/upcoming productions include Beautiful, Bullets Over Broadway, Little Miss Sunshine, Million Dollar Quartet and Pippin. Past productions include Hairspray, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Memphis, Promises, Promises, The Producers and War Horse. Broadway.com is the premier theater website for news, exclusive content and ticket sales. For more information please visit BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com and Broadway.com.

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Maria 'Pia' Ugarte is a singer, writer, actress, vocal coach, recording artist and producer based in the south side of Atlanta. She has been published by Peruvian newspaper, Diario 'El Comercio,' the oldest and one of the most prominent journals in South America. She is also the Founder and Director of The Ugarte Studio and the Founder and Artistic Director of the performing arts organization known as Voices and the female vocal band Zaphyra.
Ms. Ugarte’s career started in music in Peru under the tutelage of Maestro Manuel Cuadros Barr, Founder and Artistic Director of 'Camerata Vocale Orfeo,' the 'Coral de Lima' and Artistic Advisor to the President of the Republic of Peru. Encouraged by her first mentor, she moved to New York were she continued her vocal studies at The Juilliard School and NYU. She continued to coach opera under Maestro Vincent La Selva, Founder and Artistic Director of New York Grand Opera, winning an apprentice scholarship with the company and further performing in many of the company’s concerts at Carnegie Hall and fully staged opera productions in Central Park. Her association with the company now covers two decades.
Since early in her career, Ms. Ugarte has been active in acting. She trained in Perú under the tutelage of that country’s first lady of the theater, Elvira Travesí. She has performed several roles from the English and Spanish literature, among others, Georgina in Lowell S. Swortzell’s 'My American Cousin,' and as Karen Andre in Ann Rand’s 'The Night of January Sixteenth.' Ms. Ugarte has also been involved in television, film, and professional modeling. Her most recent screen engagement has been as Ms. Linda in Trina Sterling’s 'We Will Never Know.' Other screen credits include 'Lottery Ticket' and 'Life as We Know It.'
As a voice over talent, Ms. Ugarte has been the Spanish voice for the Texas distributor of the 'New York Times' among others. She has dubbed for video production for companies as IBM. As a translation specialist, she has worked for the entertainment industry, on documentation and scripts, for Peruvian movie director 'Lucho' Lloza Urquidi, best known in the United States for his work in the motion picture “Anaconda” starring Jennifer Lopez. Currently, she is working on two recording projects: Zaphyra’s debut album and Inna Satunovsky’s cycle of art songs 'Songs for Eli' producing, writing the lyrics of the final song and for which she is also writing a children’s book.